Cap panel for caskets



Dec. 28, 1943. GERQLD 2,338,035

CAP PANEL FOR GASKETS Filed March 51, 1942 i I! I I I XIII/III] 7Patented Dec. 28, 1943 GAP PANEL FOR GASKETS Lawrence Gerold,Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Crane & Breed Casket Company,Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 31, 1942,Serial No. 437,062

(Cl. 2'7---l l) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of cap panels for burialcaskets.

An object of the invention is to produce a cap panel which is durable,serviceable and attractive in appearance, though fabricated of anon-metallic substance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cap panel of thecharacter stated, which is nonmetallic throughout, yet highly resistantto deterioration in the'presence of water and the Various other elementsof nature to which such articles are subjected in use.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means describedherein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a cap panel for burial caskets,embodying the present invention.

Fig, 2 is a cross-sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank in flat form, used in producing theFig. 1 cap panel.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a set of dies such as might be employedin imparting the desired shape to the cap panel.

It has been common practice in the past, to fabricate burial caskets andcap panels therefor of sheet metal, either ferrous or non-ferrous, inorder to preserve the contents of the casket. With the present shortageof metal, it has become necessary to devise ways and means of producingcap panels and other parts of burial equipment, from materials otherthan metal. The production of casket cap panels has been attended withmuch difficulty in the effort to employ materials other than metal, dueto the requirements of serviceability, durability, rigidity, andresistance to the deteriorating effects of the elements of nature, asprescribed for articles of the character with which the invention isconcerned. In addition to the requirements above mentioned, it isnecessary that the cap panel be so constructed and finished as topresent an ac-- ceptable finish and a neat appearance, with all jointstightly and permanently closed so as to render them invisible undercareful inspection.

In accordance with the present invention, the cap panel is fabricatedfrom a single flat sheet of pressed board material, the constituents ofwhich are fibrous and incapable of withstanding forces such as might beimposed by pressing dies under the conditions attending the pressing ofmetallic cap panels. With the use of metal as the cap panel material, ithas been possible to subject a plain metallic sheet to the pressingdies, with the assurance that the metallic blank would readily take thedesired form or contour because of the characteristics of stretchabilityand compressibility inherent in the metal. The same pressing operation,however, has been found inapplicable to the fabrication of cap panelsblanked from pressed board material, due to the fact that such materialwill not withstand stretching and compressing forces withoutdisintegrating or cracking where the compressional and tortionalstresses are imparted thereto by the dies.

While various types of pressed board material might with equal facilitylend itself to the treatment herein to be described, it has been foundhighly satisfactory to utilize in the manufacture of the cap panel, atempered or hardened pressed board having at least one of its faceshighly finished and hardened, and of which an example is thecommercially known product called Masonite. This product ordinarilycomprises a wood fiber mixed with a binder and subjected to hightemperature and compressive forces sufficient to produce a homogeneoussheet of considerable density having the properties of rigidity,hardness, and a, high degree of impermeability. Due to the structuralpeculiarities of the material, it is susceptible to cracking andseparating, rather than bending to any appreciable extent.

In order that the desired material above mentioned might be utilized inthe construction of cap panels for burial caskets, the following specialtreatment has been devised.

With reference 'to the accompanying drawing, the character I? indicatesa finished cap panel having longitudinal side edges I3li, and end edgesl5li-$. From one longitudinal side edge to the other, the sheetconstituting the panel is arched as is most clearly illustrated by Fig.2,

and in the preferred form of the invention, the curvature of the arch ismaintained by one or more struts it of wood or other suitable materialto which the sheet of pressed board may be tacked or otherwise secured.The strut or struts it subtend the longitudinal side rails H and it of arectangular frame to which all of the edge margins of the cap panel arefixed, either by means of an adhesive or by small nails or otherfasteners. The characters It and 2c indicate the end rails of therectangular frame, which frame may conveniently be constructed of woodenstrips.

All the ends of the cap panel, end sections 2| I and 22 are provided,and these must necessarily curve transversely of the curvature of themain intermediate portion of the cap panel, in order to produce apleasing appearance and to complete the cup shape of the structure. Inworking with metal, the end sections are merely pressed to the propercurvature at the time of pressing the intermediate body portion of thecap panel. With pressed board material, however, such treatment is notpossible for the reasons stated previously herein. To overcome thedifficulties presented to the forming of the cap panel from pressedboard material, the cap panel is pressed from a blank having thecharacteristics illustrated by Fig. 4.

With reference to Fig. 4, which shows the blank in flat form, it will beobserved that the end sections 21 and 22, while integral with theintermediate section it, at the locations 23, have their side edges 2and 25 cut with a curvature such that each end section simulatessubstantially one end of an ellipse, or, perhaps more properly, atruncated cone with its sides bulged outwardly, rather than straight. Inthis connection, note that the edges 2d and of the end sections areslightly curved, rather than straight. At the termini 2iii2 or" thecuts, the curved edges 22 i and 725 of the end sections terminate atspaced points which are equidistant from the outer edge 15 of the endsection, and equidistant also from the major axis of the blank i2.

Flanking the curved edges i i and 25 of the end sections, are thereversely curved end edges and 28 of the intermediate section l2 of theblank. These edges 2'3 and it extend from the termini 26% of the cuts tothe side edges i3 and it, respectively of the intermediate section iii.In the flat blank form as illustrated by Fig. 4:, the apices 2s and ofthe acute angles formed where the end edges ill and 2% meet therespective side edges i3 and i i of the intermediate section, are spacedfrom the apices iii and 32 of the base angles of the end sections, thelatter being outwardly extended at a greater distance from the centerpoint of the blank, than are the apices at 2% and 3b. The wedge shapedportions of material re moved from the blank to form the spaced butgradually meeting edges such as 25 and 28, may be described as cuneiformin character, rather than of regular straight-sided triangularformation.

In addition to the curvatures of the edges such as and 28, said edgesand the others corresponding thereto, are chamfered as indicated at 33and 3d of 5 so that the spaces bounded thereby are greater at theunderface of the blank, than at the upper or outer face thereof exposedto View in Fig. 4. By so chamfering the edges of the cuts at each of thefour corners of the blank, a well fitting butt joint is effected whenthe blank is subjected to the forming action of the pressing dies whichimpart the configuration of Fig. l to the cap panel. It will beunderstood that the blank of Fig. l, when undergoing the pressingoperation, will be arched by bending the margins l3 and it, and the endsections 25 and 22, in a direction away from the observer, so that theultimate form or the cap panel will be as illustrated by Fig. l. Thearching of these sections transversely of one another obviously willproduce strains at the locations Flt-23, where the sections areintegral. These areas of strain may be conveniently referred to as areasof merging strains.

The pressing operation may be performed in a set of dies suitablyconstructed for the purpose, an example of which is illustrated by Fig.6. In this figure, the character 35 indicates the dished female part ofthe die, the interior of which is formed to the shape illustrated byFig. 1, while the reverse of such shape is incorporated in the male diepart 3t that includes the plug 3'! similarly shaped but made slightlysmaller in dimensions so as to leave a space between the workingsurfaces of the dies sufficient to accommodate the thickness of thepressed board blank. One or both die parts may be heated in any suitablemanner known in the art. For purpose of illustration, the variouscharacters 38 indicate openings in the die parts for the ingress andegress of steam or other hot fluid suitable for heating the die parts.From the foregoing it should readily be understood that the blank ofFig. 4 shall be subjected to heat and pressure within the dies, in orderto permanently form the cap panel to the Fig. 1 configuration.

After having been formed as stated, it may be desirable to reinforce thejoints occurring between the end sections and the intermediate sectionof the cap panel in order to preclude the possibility of separation atthe joints. While reinforcement may not in all cases be required atthese locations, a satisfactory reinforcement may be accomplished by theapplication of a strong and coarse textile strip, as indicated at 39,these strips being adhesively applied over the joints interiorly of thecap panel. Adhesives or cements of various kinds are practicable forthis purpose. Either before or after application of the textile stripmaterial, the wood frame hereinbefore described may be fitted within theformed cap panel, and attached thereto in any suitable manner such as bymeans of small nails, brads, or other acceptable fastening devices.

After .ie cap panel has been completed as described, the joints at thefour corners may be trimmed and puttied, if necessary, whereupon theentire panel may be subjected to a painting or other coating treatmentfor imparting any desired color or finish to the completed cap panel.From a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that the mainbody portion IQ of the cap panel is arched transversely of the sideedges, whereas the end sections 2i and 22 are arched in the oppositedirection, the arches meeting along the closed joints occurring ascurved ridges between the corners of the cap panel. and the spaceduppermost termini of the edges defining the end sections 2i and 22.

A cap panel constructed in accordance with the teaching herein furnishesa durable and attractive light weight cover for a casket, possessed ofthe various advantages enumerated at the beginning of the specification.The corner joints when properly finished are practicallyindistinguishable from a pressed metal dividing line between the endsections and the main body portion of the cap panel. The fact that theend sections are integral parts of the main body portion i2 not onlyenhances and facilitates the pressing of the blank to its ultimate form,but in addition, provides a neat and simple earth load supporting regionof great strength.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in theframework for the cap panel may be resorted to, within the scope of theappended claims, without departing from 1e spirit of the invention. Theterm pressed board material, or similar terms used in the claims, shouldbe understood to include the many different types of sheet materialpresently manufactured from pulp or fibers mixed with a binder andtreated in various ways to produce slabs or sheets suitable for thepurposes of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cap panel for burial caskets, comprising a sheet of substantiallybrittle pressed board material susceptible to fracture upon shaping withcompound curvatures, said sheet being constituted of arched endsections, and a transversely arched intermediate section having straightlongitudinal side edges, the latter section being joined to said endsections, along a curved ridge at each joint, theend sections each beingsubstantially triangular, and integral with an end of the intermediatesection near the major axis of said intermediate section, to provideareas of merging strains produced incident to arching of the endsections transversely of the arch of the intermediate section.

2. A substantially rectangular four-cornered cap panel for burialcaskets, comprising a sheet of substantially brittle pressed boardmaterial susceptible to fracture upon shaping with compound curvatures,said sheet being constituted of a pair of opposed substantiallytriangular end sections arched downwardly and terminating in straightparallel edges, a longitudinal intermediate section having oppositestraight side edges meeting the edges of the arched end sections at thecorners of the cap panel, said intermediate section being archedtransversely to the arches of the end sections and meeting said endsections along curved ridges beginning at the corners of the cap paneland extending inwardly thereof toward the major axis of the intermediatesection, the end sections being integral with the intermediate sectionnear the major axis of the latter section, to provide areas of mergingstrains produced incident to arching of the end sections transversely ofthe arch of the intermediate section, the aforesaid curved ridges at thecorner joints being terminated in said areas of merging strains.

LAWRENCE GEROLD.

